The One Magic is Meant for Two (Jerza Story)
by purewriting
Summary: Erza Scarlet's childhood friend, Jellal Fernandes mysteriously vanishes from their hometown without a trace then miraculously reappears 10 years later but something seems off about her old friend.
1. Chapter 1: Beginnings

**A/N: This story is going to be lacking some things that are part of the actual series, but there will be references or my personal takes on different events that happened between them. But this is hopefully going to be a long story so sit tight and enjoy! :)**

 **...**

 **Chapter 1: Beginnings**

 **...**

 ** _12 years ago:_**

 _"Come on Jellal! You can't catch me!" laughed a young girl as she ran._

 _"Oh yes I can!" he retorted light-heartedly, chasing her._

 _The girl's scarlet red hair swung behind her as she sprinted through the streets, her brown eyes sparkling with pure,_ _unbridled joy. The boy running after her had blue hair, gold eyes, and a strange maroon tattoo under his right eye that neither of them knew the origin of. In a sudden burst of speed, the boy caught up to the girl and tackled her to the ground. They tumbled down the hill they were running down until the boy landed on top of the girl, effectively pinning her to the ground._

 _"Caught you Erza." he whispered in her ear, breathlessly._

 _"Alright. You win Jellal, you're too good at tag." Erza laughed, "Let me up."_

 _"Hmmm...nah." he smirked._

 _"W-What?" she asked, surprised._

 _Jellal smirked mischievously and straddled her waist. "You know what our deal was. The winner gets to inflict any punishment on the looser as long as it doesn't cross any lines."_

 _"No! Don't!" she begged, her voice between panic and laughter._

 _"Brace yourself Erza for a visit from the tickle monster!"_

 _Ezra's body was racked with laughter as Jellal tickled her until she managed to throw him off with her thrashing. The blue-haired boy was up again rather quickly however and chasing after Erza again trying to tickle her. Erza always enjoyed playing with Jellal, even if she always lost in games like tag. It was always more fun when he was around._

 _Eventually, Erza was hiding behind a crate in an alleyway as Jellal ran past searching for the scarlet haired 7 year old. Erza suppressed a victorious giggle as he_ _went right past her hiding place. She hoped these times would never end and that the friendship between the two of them would never disappear._

 **...**

 ** _11 years_ _ago_**

 _The school bell rang, signaling the end of school for the elementary school students. The children of the small school filed out in groves. All except an 8-year-old scarlet haired girl. Erza lagged behind the rest of the students, a sheathed sword on her back for her sword-lessons. Some of the groups of kids shot weary glances over their shoulders at her and whispered to each other. Erza didn't know what they were saying, but she didn't care. The only people who's opinions mattered to her were her parents, her friends, and Jellal. Anyone else can think whatever they wanted about her. She could just as easily beat them up if she felt like it._

 _Her cross thoughts were interrupted by an arm slinging over her shoulder. Erza flinched and stumbled under the sudden weight and glanced at the person who had just slung their arm over her shoulder. The smiling face of her life-long friend stared back at her._

 _"Hey Erza." he greeted._

 _"Hey Jellal. How was astronomy?" she asked._

 _"Awesome. How was sword fighting?"_

 _"Awesome." she teased back, "The teacher said I've got a natural talent for it."_

 _Jellal nodded, "Of course you do. You're awesome at anything and everything."_

 _Erza shock her head and chuckled. "You know that's not true. I still can't beat you in tag."_

 _"True, but you're awesome at everything else."_

 _The scarlet haired girl laughed heartily at the comment. "You're amazing too. I can't think of anyone else who's got such a talent for language and mathematics."_

 _"Once again, true." Jellal said, then his eyes widened and he dug into his pocket._

 _Erza raised an eyebrow at the blue-haired boy as he pulled out a small poorly wrapped box from his coat pocket and handed it to her._

 _"I almost forgot. Today's your birthday." he smiled, "Happy birthday Erza!"_

 _Erza smiled and graciously accepted the gift. "Thank you Jellal."_

 _She carefully unwrapped it and opened the box. Inside was a small silver necklace of a fairy sitting on a sword. Her face lit up as she took the dainty necklace out of its box and marveled at it._

 _"Wow, it's so pretty." she smiled, then threw her arms around Jellal, "Thank you Jellal!"_

 _"Your welcome Erza." he grinned._

 _She released him and he pulled a similar necklace out from under his shirt and showed it to her. It was similar to her's but the fairy was sitting on a star instead of a sword._

 _"You've got a matching one." she commented._

 _"Yep. Think of it as a symbol of our friendship." Jellal grinned, letting the necklace drop back against his chest._

 _"Yeah! We'll be friends forever, right?" Erza cheered, clasping the necklace around her neck._

 _"Of course." he said holding up his pinky, "Pinky promise."_

 _Erza laughed and hooked her pinky around his. "Pinky promise."_

 **...**

 _10 years ago  
_

 _Erza eagerly left the school as soon as the bell rang, her sword bouncing against her back rather uncomfortably, but she wasn't bothered by it. She was so excited to see Jellal today. It was his birthday today and she wanted to give him a nice gift like he had for her. The silver necklace swung wildly around her neck as she ran to their usual meeting spot. Clutched to her chest was a neatly wrapped package. Erza sat in the park at on the monkey bars, her sword hanging off the side by its strap as she excitedly swung her legs._

 _She had spent all her allowance on a book about Heavenly Body Magic but it was worth it. Over the last year, Jellal had taken an interest in Heavenly Body Magic and wanted to learn it. So naturally when she saw the book in the store last week, she scrapped together all her allowance and purchased the book for his birthday. Erza knew he'd love it, and she was excited to give it to him._

 _However, the hours ticked by and the sun soon started sinking towards the western horizon. With no sign of Jellal._

 _The next day in school, Jellal was absent from school which he almost never is. A growing pit of worry was growing in Erza's chest as the days became weeks and the weeks, months. On the second month, Erza finally worked up the courage to drop by Jellal's house. It wasn't so much that she was scared to go by his house, she was scared of what she would find there._

 _Or what she wouldn't find._

 _She knocked on the front door and waited. No one answered. Erza knocked again, this time louder. Once again, no answer. She went to knock again, but the door swung open._

 _"It was unlocked?" she asked herself, hesitantly walking inside._

 _The house was dark, save the sunlight streaming in through the grim covered windows. Erza ran her hand over the dump table in the hallway and came up with a finger covered in dust. Something was definitely wrong._

 _"Ms. Fernandes! Jellal!" she called, "Is anyone home?"_

 _No answer._

 _Now Erza was REALLY worried. Normally Ms. Fernandes, Jellal's guardian, was always home. But the house looked like it hadn't been inhabited for months and Ms. Fernandes was a bit OCD. The Fernandes house was always the cleanest house in town, the presence of even a single speck of dust was a rarity. Erza sprinted through the house, searching every room for her friends until she finally came to the bedroom._

 _The sight that greeted her would no doubt give her nightmares for weeks to come._

 _The walls and the furniture were stained with streaks of blood and the air stank of decomposition. Laying against the wall closest to the door among a puddle of long dried blood was the decomposing body of Ms. Fernandes. Erza gasped in horror, her hand flying over her mouth in horror. She immediately ran out of the room as fast as her little legs could carry her._

 _"JELLAL!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, tears streaming from her eyes, "WHERE ARE YOU!?"_

 _Erza searched the whole house, but there was no sign of her friend. She was about to give up when she went into what she assumed was his bedroom. Glinting on the floor was a silver necklace of a fairy sitting on a star. Erza trembled in grief as she held the necklace in her tiny hands. Jellal rarely took this necklace off and when he did he put it in a special bag for safe keeping. So why was it seemingly discarded on the floor?_

 _"Jellal...where are you...?"_

 **...**

 **A/N: A little dark, but it's a bit** **appropriate for the story. In this story, Erza doesn't get kidnapped to work on the Tower of Heaven. It'll be a little different then the anime, but I think it's going to be good :)**


	2. Chapter 2: 10 years past

**A/N: Hello universe! Thank you to all the people who commented on and read this story or any of my stories. I know I've said this a few times before but it makes me happy that people like my work. And I keep saying this because it's true.**

 **And to all you people who were telling me to continue: Did you really think I was going to stop? I loved this story ever since I came up with it, I'm going to the end :)**

 **I want to warn you all in advance that at the end of the month I'll be attending a Con so I won't be able to update from the last few days of July to the first few of August because we gamers have a saying in Cons: "Eat, sleep, game. Pick two". And unfortunately that doesn't allow any time for Fanfic writing :(**

 **However, when I get back to it I'll get cracking on as many chapters as I can to make up for the absence and the cliffhangers I'm most likely going to leave you off on. You all know I'm going to do that *evil laugh***

 **Now enough rambling and back to the story!**

 **...**

Chapter 2: 10 years past

 **...**

Rosemary village was bustling as ever. The events that had transpired there 10 years ago were nothing more then a Chinese whisper, but one person never forgot. Her name was Erza Scarlet. She had long since made more friends after Jellal's disappearance, but she never went a day without wondering where he was or if he was still alive. Two silver necklaces hung around her neck ever since she found it discarded in his room. The sword and fairy necklace that he gave her for her 8th birthday and the matching star and fairy necklace that used to belong to Jellal.

Immediately after she found Ms. Fernandes's body she alerted the police and they did a full search of the surrounding areas, but since the trail was 2 months old they quickly gave up. Erza didn't give up for 6 more months, but came up with nothing of significance and came to acknowledge that her friend was gone but that didn't mean she accepted it.

Erza was 19 years old now and had grown up beautifully. Over the past 10 years she'd become more mature, her scarlet red hair had grown to waist length and her sword skills had been sharpened to the point of mastery. Erza had even discovered her skill for a magic called **Re-quip** and had quickly developed the unheard of skill of **Re-quipping** armor. For Erza, armor was less of a battle tool and more of a fashion statement. It was a rare occasion that the scarlet haired woman was seen without armor.

Her thoughts wondered back to her childhood best friend. Erza wondered what he would look like now. She hadn't seen him since they were both 9-year-old and he was already strikingly handsome for his age.

However, Erza's thoughts were interrupted by Kagura's sheathed sword struck her in the side of the face.

"Erza are you spacing out again?" she asked.

Erza rubbed the now bruised spot on her cheek. "Sorry."

"Was it about _him_ again?" Kagura asked sitting on the grass of the hill, her usually stony expression softening for a moment.

Erza sat down next to her and nodded, fiddling with the twin necklaces that hung around her neck.

"Jellal can't be gone forever." she whispered.

Kagura sighed, "I don't want to believe it either, but if he is still out there we have no leads to go on."

Erza sighed and rested her chin on her knees and stared out at Rosemary village, sprawled in the valley below like an unrolled map on a table. She'd grown up here with her friends Kagura, a fellow swordswoman and mage like her; Simon, Kagura's older brother who Kagura has told Erza has a little crush on her; and 10 years ago to the day...Jellal.

Kagura stood up again, sword in hand. "You want to continue?"

Erza stood up and removed her own sword from the ground and brandished it in front of her.

"Yes." she replied, "And I would like to request that we go all out."

"Magic too?" Kagura raised an eyebrow, questioningly.

"Yes. My **Re-quip** verses your **Gravity Change***." Erza said, equally stone-faced as her friend, "I will not be distracted this time."

Kagura nodded and stood in a fighting stance, also brandishing her own sword, **Archenemy** in front of her. The auras of their magic swirled around both swordswomen and the air itself vibrated as rocks levitated off the ground. Suddenly the stones stalled and clattered back to the ground and both mages exploded forward.

" **Re-quip: Heaven's Wheel**!"

Ezra's whole body glowed and said armor appeared on her along with two swords in her hands. She charged past Kagura, blocking her on coming attack with one sword and nailing her in the stomach with the pummel (the end of the handle) of the other. While Kagura was stunned, Erza thrust-kicked her in the back and she stumbled but quickly recovered with a one-handed backhand spring.

" **Circle Sword**!" she shouted, " **Dance, my blades**!"

Multiple swords circled in front of Erza before firing at Kagura, who skillfully dodged all of them and launched at Erza with incredible speed.

" **Slashing Form**!"

Kagura slashed at Erza, who managed to dodge far enough to only have the edge of her wings clipped by the attack. Erza blocked Kagura's secondary attack with her sword. Their swords briefly unlocked for a flurry of sword slashes that were skillfully blocked by both sides. They broke apart and stood on opposite sides. Suddenly the gravity around Erza increased.

" **Re-quip: Flight Armor**!"

The jungle themed armor replaced **Heaven's Wheel** and Erza darted out of the gravity zone with blinding speed and slashed at Kagura.

" **Sonic Claw**!"

Kagura blocked with **Archenemy** but was forced back. Using the enhanced speed the **Flight Armor** granted her, Erza attack at a different angle and sent Kagura tumbling halfway down the hill before she caught herself and launched back at the top of the hill.

" **Strong Form**!"

Kagura stabbed at Erza with **Archenemy** and connected. The force of the blow sent Erza tumbling towards the other side of the hill, but she caught herself before she fell all the way down the hill.

" **Re-quip: Black Wing Armor**! **Moon Flash**!"

The cross slash slammed into Kagura and sent her skidding a feet feet, but before she could recover Erza was on top of her and was sending a hard punch into her face. Kagura tumbled back down the hill but once again quickly recovered and launched again at Erza. Their swords clashed and they struggled back and forth until Kagrua swept Erza's legs out from under her, Erza kicked out her own legs and swept Kagura on her back then stood up. Kagura was also quick on her recovery and was up again in no time flat.

" **Re-quip: Flame Empress Armor**! **Phoenix Talon***!"

Erza slashed her **Flame Sword** and a wave of fire leapt off the blade at Kagura. She dodged barely, the flames burning the ends of her long black hair. The two swordsewomen locked swords again and struggled back and forth until the sound of heavy footsteps crushed the grass behind them.

"Erza-chan, Kagura-nee! You have to come back right now!" Simon said, breathing heavily.

The two mages disengaged and faced the older boy.

"What is it nii-san?" Kagura asked.

"It's-It's about Jellal!" he exclaimed.

The mention of her childhood friend's name immediately grabbed Erza's attention.

"What about Jellal? Have they finally found any leads?" she pressed.

"Better then that." Simon said, "Come on! You won't believe it if you didn't see it!"

Simon sprinted down the hill towards the village and Kagura and Erza had no choice but to follow in suit. The whole run, Erza's mind was reeling. What had been uncovered about Jellal? Did the authorities finally figure out where Jellal was? From Simon's tone, it was good news so Erza doubted it was the body of her friend they found. Erza shivered, remembering the horrible decomposing body of Ms. Fernandes. The image still haunted her nightmares to this day.

Without even realizing it, Erza had sprinted ahead of her friends who were obviously on-route to the old Fernandes residence. The building had been abandoned since that fateful day when Erza discovered Ms. Fernandes dead in her bedroom, no doubt brutally murdered. It was still maintained and thus was in fairly good condition despite its disuse. Erza rocketed through the gates, blew up the stairs of the porch and unceremoniously threw the front door open, almost ripping the oaken door off the hinges with her unruly strength.

What she saw in the front room shocked Erza to the core. Sitting idly on the old couch reading the book that Erza had purchased all those years ago for Jellal's birthday was the one person she thought she'd never see again. He looked up at the scarlet haired mage with a look of surprise.

"Erza..."

Erza finally found the strength to speak through her shock, but could only utter a single word. The name of the man in the room before her.

"Jellal..."

 **A/N: I hope you all liked the little fight scene between Kagura and Erza. That was the most painful part of this chapter for me to right, I had their respective Wiki pages open the whole time to search personality and attacks. Also I'm sure that all of you are going to hate me for leaving you off on a cliffhanger, but a friend and I have a running joke that I'm more evil then Zeref, so I plan on living up to that reputation *evil laughter***

*Gravity Change= The magic that Kagura uses

*Phoenix Talon= a special attack for Erza's **Flame Empress Armor** that I created


	3. Chapter 3: Suspicion Between Friends

Chapter 3: Suspicion Between Friends

 **...**

Erza couldn't believe her eyes. After 10 long years to the day of fruitless searching and dead ends, her childhood friend had miraculously reappeared almost like magic. And it was highly suspicious. The blue-haired man looked in good health. There were no signs at all that he had been harmed in any way, shape, or form.

Time between the two seemed to freeze until Simon and Kagura strolled up the porch steps.

"Erza, why'd you take off like that?" Kagura asked, impatiently and with a hint of annoyance tracing her voice, "Is something wrong?"

Erza didn't respond. Her focus was entirely on Jellal. There was something off with her old friend. Despite the relieved smile that he sported, there was something amiss in his gold eyes. They seemed less lively since they last met. Erza finally found the strength to walk up to him, but she never once took her gaze from him. Mostly out of fear that the moment she looked away he would disappear again and this time it would be forever. The thought of loosing him again made tears prick at her eyes.

Jellal's smile widened when she finally stood in front of him. "Erza-"

Then she interrupted him with the most unexpected thing. She slapped him. The collective gasps of shock from her friends didn't couture her from Jellal's miffed expression. Gently his fingers touched the angry red handprint that was slowly appearing on his cheek.

"How could you?" she asked shakily, "HOW COULD YOU DISAPPEAR LIKE THAT WITHOUT A WORD!?"

Jellal stared wide-eyed back at the scarlet-haired woman, the spell book slipping from his hands and thudding to the dust-laydened floor. His expression turned grim and he avoided Erza's cold gaze.

"Do you have any idea how worried we all were for you? It wasn't just me." Erza said, tears finally spilling from her eyes, "Simon, Kagura, the _whole village_ was worried about you. Where were you?"

"Erza, it's a long story." he said quietly, still not looking at her.

Erza promptly sat on the old sofa and crossed her arms over her armor. "I'm not going anywhere until I get an explanation for your disappearance Jellal." she stated firmly.

"Um...should we just leave you?" Simon asked, tentatively.

Kagura guided her older brother out of the house and gave Erza a brief nod before closing the door. The minute the two siblings lift it felt as if a breath Erza didn't know she was holding was released. Her gaze traveled back to Jellal. Her install assumptions were correct. Her childhood best friend certainly did grow up to be a very handsome man. Quickly she dismissed the thought and focused more on maintaining her stone faced expression.

"Well? Where were you Jellal?" she asked impatiently.

"10 years ago, a group of people who worshiped the Black Wizard came to this house." he started, "They requested that my guardian turn me over to them in order to assist them in a scheme to revive Zeref."

Erza's expression remained neutral, but her mind was reeling harder then it was a few minutes ago. What had Zeref fanatics wanted with Jellal?

"Naturally, she refused to hand me over and put up a fight. She told me to run while she held them off. I did, but two of the fanatics pursued me to what was my bedroom where I managed to escape through the window and into the bushes then sprinted off into the woods."

Jellal paused. "What happened to her anyway? My guardian."

Erza cringed at the memory and quietly spoke. "She was brutally murdered. Two months after your disappearance I came here to look for you and found her dead in her bedroom."

Jellal's expression sank momentarily before he clutched his hand. "That's horrible. How could they do that to such a kind-hearted woman?"

She shock her head sadly. "I do not know, maybe they're fanaticism blinded them to right and wrong. Now continue."

"The fanatic group pursued me for about two years before they finally managed to catch me. They took me to a structure they were constructing in the middle of the ocean called the R-system. Its purpose is to resurrect someone from the dead."

Erza's eyes widened, "But why did they want you?"

"They believed that I was powerful enough to act as a sacrifice to bring back Zeref once I was trained properly and the R-system was completed." he admitted, "For the next 7 years they trained me in **Heavenly Body Magic** while construction of the R-system continued." he buried his hands in his hair, "I'd never seen so many children forced into labor. They were treated so poorly too, of course even as their beloved sacrifice I wasn't treated any better. Any attempts I made to escape was met with brutal punishment."

Erza resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow. He didn't look like he had been brutally beaten. In fact he looked very healthy and strong. Jellal was acting very suspicious. Over the course of the whole story, he had never once mentioned the necklace that matched her's. The necklace that had given her the nickname: "Titania, Queen of the Fairies". Before he disappeared, he wore that necklace with great pride but now he seemed to have completely forgotten about it.

Her thoughts of suspicion were interrupted when Jellal resumed his story.

"Then six months ago an effort made by a small group of children to escape stumbled across the ceil I was held in. I took the opportunity to escape with them. But it went wrong and we were all caught. I couldn't take it anymore and I lashed out with my magic. I managed to steal a boat and get away, but the others weren't so lucky. It'll be a miracle if they're still alive. After I made it to shore I had wandered for another year before I made it back here."

Jellal finished his story and looked at Erza from the corner of his eye, obviously waiting for her response. But Erza wasn't sure how to respond to his story, it was horrible to believe that he had been put through that much pain. She almost felt bad for slapping him earlier. Almost. Something felt off about his story that Erza couldn't place.

Finally Erza pulled Jellal's necklace out from under her armor and unclasped it.

"Do you remember this necklace?" she asked, holding it for him to see.

His eyes skimmed over the silver necklace with mild interest. Erza's suspicion rose to an uncomfortably high level. She didn't want to believe that something was wrong with her best friend. She wanted to be happy that he had returned to her alive, but his reaction to the necklace concerned her.

"That's the necklace that matched the one I gave you for your 8th birthday." he said, smiling faintly, "I thought I lost it while I was running."

"I found it in your room when I looked for you. I hadn't let it out of my sight since." Erza smiled softly placing it in his hand, "I thought you forgot about it since you never mentioned it in your story."

Jellal chuckled a little as he turned the warm metal in his hand. "I didn't mention it because I was ashamed to think I had lost something so precious."

Erza scowled a little. If the necklace was so precious to him then why did he regard it with such a lack of interest? Admittedly, her suspicion waned but didn't disappear. Jellal slipped the necklace in the pocket of his overcoat and smiled faintly at Erza who smiled back and hugged him.

"I'm glad you're back. I was beginning to think that I'd never see you again." she admitted, sobbing slightly.

"And I was beginning to think that I'd never see you again either." Jellal said hugging her back, "But there's still something that needs to be taken care of."

"The R-system." Erza said darkly.

"Exactly. You're the only person I can think of that can help me destroy it."

"Me? Why not alert the Council?" she asked.

"The Council can only do so much, alerting them will help but it won't be enough. Someone needs to go there and take care of it directly." Jellal said, "It's the only way to insure that Zeref doesn't rise again."

"..."

"Will you help me Erza? You're the person I trust most and is the most qualified for this."

Erza was silent for a moment. Something about this seemed off, but the threat that the most evil wizard in the history of magic could be resurrected is too big to ignore.

"Okay. I will accompany you on your journey Jellal. Together we will destroy the R-system."


	4. Chapter 4: Prisoner of False Fate

**A/N: Oh my gosh, you guys are so going to hate me for these next few chapters. Heads up, there shall be death.**

 **...**

Chapter 4: Prisoner of False Fate

 **...**

Erza sat on the roof of her empty home. She lived alone ever since her parents passed away when she was 5. Tomorrow was the day she would set off on a quest with Jellal to destroy the R-system, which he told her was code-named "The Tower of Heaven" by the fanatics who built it.

Jellal had already sent an anonymous message to the Council on the location, purpose and state of the Tower. What he told them to do about it, is still a mystery to Erza as he didn't elaborate on his plans. As the time passed on, Erza's suspicion of her old friend had grown to such an extent that she couldn't sleep. So she spent the last 2 hours packing for the trip. Unlike usual trips, she found it best to pack light with nothing but necessities instead of her normal train of bags.

But that had been an hour ago and she still wasn't tired in the slightest, her own doubt was keeping her up. What baffled her the most was that she was doubting Jellal. In all the years they had known each other (not counting the 10 he was missing for), never once had she doubted him. He always seemed to know the right thing to do, but then why was she so uneasy?

 _Those eyes._ Erza thought, _They're so much colder then they were all those years ago._

With what had happened to Jellal for those 10 years, she understood that there would be some mental taxation, but Jellal's eyes had completely lost their familiar warm spark. That confident glow that made Erza trust every word he said. It was missing. Now they seemed...empty.

Empty and devoid of the lively sparkle that shone in them. What Erza once saw as warm, kind eyes that shone like twin suns now more closely resembled the cold metal associated with their color. Erza would go as far as to say they looked almost sinister.

His story seemed completely logical and there was not one faulter in his words, but that's partly what troubles Erza. In a way, the story Jellal spun before her seemed rehearsed. Like he had wrote it even before he had arrived at Rosemary village.

"But then again, Jellal had always been most at home speaking publicly." Erza mused aloud, "It makes sense he was able to recount the story so flawlessly, but how was he able to speak so easily about such horrific events?"

If something so terrible happened to Erza, she would absolutely refuse to talk about it. She would just go on living her life, pretending it never happened even if it haunted her day and night. She would just lock it away in her iron-clad heart with the rest of her scarring memories. Sapress it until it was nothing more then a distant nightmare.

But it wasn't Erza who was subjected to this mental and physical torment. It was Jellal. Maybe this was his way of dealing with the tragic event that took over more then half his life. Erza couldn't possibly understand what it was like to live each day in fear for 10 years. True, he was getting trained in magic to be a powerful Mage, but at the same time living like a prisoner. A prisoner of false fate.

In life, humans are meant to forge their own paths and make their own choices about where they go and what they do with the brief span of time they were given by whoever was up there orchestrating this symphony of life. It wasn't meant to be dictated by other humans. They aren't meant to be caught up in a web of lies spun by those who wish to control others.

If there is a god in Heaven, Erza considered his to be cruel. Why would he, she or it put Jellal through so much pain and suffering? A test of mental strength perhaps? An all too cruel test indeed. Not just to Jellal, but to all who knew him. All the people of Rosemary village who grew up with him or watched him grow. His disappearance felt like someone took a vital piece out of their hearts that couldn't be replaced by anything but his safe return to them.

Erza was hit the hardest by his sudden disappearment. Mostly because out of all the villagers, Erza had the closest relationship with Jellal. They'd been two-peas-in-pod since their cradle days. Her parents and Jellal's guardian were close and when Erza's parents passed away from an unnamed disease, Ms. Fernandes acted like a secondary motherly figure to Erza and comforted her in her period of grieving.

Erza sighed in a mix of confusion and frustration then stood up.

"I need to clear my head." She muttered leaping down from her roof and landing in a crotch.

The village was always quieter at night. Everyone was in bed peacefully sleeping. The only one that was strolling at this time of night was Erza. Soon Rosemary village disappeared behind her as she trudged up the hill she and Kagura were practicing on earlier that day. Once at the top, the scarlet haired Mage **Re-quipped** a sword and practiced her sword strokes.

This has been her default stress reliever for the past 10 years. It was all she could do to keep herself distracted from her painful reality.

Her parents are dead...

 _Slash_...

Her best friend since childhood disappeared without a trace...

 _Slice_...

The only adult she could see as a parental figure was brutally murdered...

 _Cut._..

Jellal returns and nothing seems out of the ordinary but at the same time...something feels so wrong with him that she can't sleep...

 _Jab_...

And then said friend requests that she accompany him on a quest to the place he was held captive for 7 years and destroy it...

 _Whoosh_...

"Are you suspecting something about Jellal as well?" asked a voice behind her.

Erza whirled around with her sword but stopped short of Kagura's neck. The scarlet haired Mage locked eyes with the stone-faced girl before willing her sword to vanish back into its pocket dimension.

"You're jumper then usual Erza." Kagura noted.

"Apologies Kagura. I was lost in thought." Erza explained.

"I can tell. You never drill so intensely without something weighing on your conscience."

"I found it difficult to sleep with so much on my mind. Jellal's return, his story...his request."

Kagura nodded and sat on the hillside, Erza sat next to her. Kagura's expression remained neutral.

"Jellal's return is quite odd. And his request isn't any less strange. What tips me off as suspicious is how good of shape he's in."

"Exactly. He doesn't look like he was forging off the land for a year or that he was tormented for the seven before that." Erza agreed, "But I don't know what to feel. I want to believe everything is going to be okay but... I know something is wrong. I don't know whether to believe his story or not."

Kagura nodded and stared down with Erza at Rosemary village. "Trust your instincts Erza. You know Jellal better then I do. You can come to a sounder and more accurate conclusion the I can."

"A lot can change in 10 years." Erza sighed.

"People never really change Erza. Jellal's still the same guy you knew as a kid, but after the hell he's been through he's bound to be a little different then before."

Erza chuckled. "I didn't know you could be so kind Kagura."

"Don't get used to it."

Erza chortled at her indifferent friend and stood up. "Thanks Kagura. I feel much better. Thank you for listening."

"That's what a friend is for isn't it?"

"I guess you're right."

The two girls were half way down the hill when an explosion rocked the village. A column of smoke towering above the town as fires sparked to life in different areas of the village. People were awoken by the commotion and were screaming and yelling at people to help put out the fires that were rapidly spreading from house to house. People in robes and masks could be seen rushing from building to building, busting down doors and searching the building before lighting it aflame and moving on to the next one, not even caring if there were people trapped inside or not.

Erza and Kagura didn't even need to speak as they ran into the village. Immediately they were greeted by a group of men in masks carrying spears. The symbol dawning their masks was unlike any symbol Erza had ever seen, but she doubted it was a good symbol. The men circled the two female mages, pointing their spears at them.

"Tell us where Jellal Fernandes is. If you don't, you won't walk away from this alive."

Ezra's eyes widened. _These men...were looking for Jellal?_

"We will do no such thing!" Kagura shouted, "Leave this village in peace before we use force."

"We shall not leave without the boy." he replied, stubbornly.

Erza was shaken from her stupor when Kagura shifted into battle stance. The scarlet haired mage's eyes narrowed dangerously and she **Re-quipped** her **Purgatory** **Armor**. Her massive spiked club slammed hard into the cobblestone pavement, generating deep cracks in the stone and creating a mini tremor that shocked the cultists surrounding her and Kagura.

"If that is the case..." she said, a darkness swirling in her brown eyes, "... **then you shall be the ones who won't walk away alive**."


	5. Chapter 5: Department

**A/N: Okay, I'M ALIVE! Sorry for the tiny hiatus, but I got off a daylong plane ride from basically across the country two days ago and I got major jet lag and I didn't get out of bed until 11:30 yesterday and am still readjusting to the time-zone change. Unfortunately I will be putting all stories on hiatus (again) for the time being at least until August 3rd because I've got some other (original) stories for a thing that I'm doing and I need to focus on that so it'll be awesomeness and if all goes well I will return to fan fiction writing with better writing abilities then I have currently.**

 **But unfortunately any cliffhangers that are instituted in the next chapters of any stories I so choose to update will not be lifted until I return from Con.**

 **Sorry ahead of time because I'm planning to be evil and murder your feels right now *evil laugh***

 **Enjoy the next chapter :)**

 **...**

Chapter 5: Department

 **...**

"If that is the case..." she said, a darkness swirling in her brown eyes, "... **then you shall be the ones who won't walk away alive**."

The cultists backed up, realizing their mistake too late as the two female mages mowed them down. Erza swung her mace with deadly force at the robed men and she was dully aware of the cracking of bones while she plowed through the ranks of men. Though, the ranks quickly thinned as more and more cultists witnessed her relentlessly brutal force, turned tail and fled in terror.

Erza quickly lost Kagura in the rage of battle. She was dully concerned for her friend but her more immediate concern was for Jellal. If the cultists took Jellal away again...Erza wasn't sure if she could bare loosing him a second time.

Fire was ripping through the village and not only cultists where running ramped through the streets but villagers were fleeing through the flames. Few cultists were brave enough to approach the raging redhead but the ones that were got mowed down with brutal force.

The Fernandes house came into view as did a platoon of cultists that were forcing their way through the front door. The gates were ripped off their hinges and a good part of the front yard was on fire. The flames had formed a barricaded in front of the front gate and were swelling to a great hight. Erza **Requipped** her **Flame Empress Armor** and sprinted straight flames.

A battle cry ripped from her throat as she swung her sword at the cultists on the porch. The unlucky ones to be in the back of the pack when Erza came charging at them like a wild animal were ruthlessly tossed aside like rag dolls. However, before Erza could reach the door the cultists in front got it open and surged inside before trying to close the door in Erza's face. Possibly in hopes of halting the scarlet haired woman's rampage, but to no anvil because she quite literally ripped the door off its hinges and threw a couple cultists back.

"Find the boy and fast!" ordered presumably the leader.

A man with a large staff stood confidently before Erza, a look of absolute determination on his face only matched by the expression on Erza's. The staff resembled something of a child's wizard costume with the softball sized crystal ball nestled in a cradle of roots and many strings of crystals swinging around the shaft. The crystal started glowing, shadowing the man's face with sharp shadows that gave a sinister appearance.

"You're strong. I'll give you that much, but you will not get any farther."

"I disagree." Erza said darkly, "You will not take my friend a second time."

The man raised an eyebrow, "Oh. So _you're_ the brat's friend, huh? Well that'll make killing you that much more exciting."

Erza **Re-quipped** again. " **I'd like to see you try."**

Her **Heaven's Wheel Armor** appeared on her and before the man could blink there were a dozen swords pointed at his throat. Despite the position he was in, he smirked. Erza briefly questioned what was going through his head, until the crystal on his staff glowed and her swords turned towards her.

"What?"

The blades she summoned had turned against her and were firing at an alarming speed, but Erza dodged them nonetheless. Her **Heaven's Wheel Armor** was swapped out for her **Morning Star Armor** and she pointed her duel-swords at the man.

" **Photon Slicer**!"

The orange energy orb tore a straight path towards its target before suddenly the crystal glowed and the attack changing course, swinging around the man before slingshotting back at Erza. Her eyes widened as the attack slammed into her with the force of a charging bull. Her **Morning Star Armor** held against the attack and protected her against the full force of the attack, but it did nothing to soften the impact as it blew her into the wall, almost breaking through it.

The man cackled evilly. "Still think you can take me _Titania_? Any attack you throw at me I can just as easily turn against you."

Erza growled and **Re-quipped** again into her **Flight Armor**. "Let's see how well you can defend against attacks you can't see! **Sonic Claw**!"

However, the attack missed her target entirely as the crystal glowed again and she hit herself instead with her own attack. Erza coughed up blood and **Re-quipped** again to her **Lightning Empress Armor** and lightning arched from the spear tip at her enemy, but once again came right back at her accompanied by a brief glow. Since Erza was wearing her **Lightning Empress Armor** she felt nothing but the weight of the attack.

" **Re-quip: Black Wing Armor**!"

The man chuckled. "You just don't give up do you?"

" **Moon Flash**!"

Once again, with the glow of the crystal, Erza's own attack was turned against her and hit her with brutal force. The scarlet haired mage dropped to one knee coughing up blood as the man loomed over her laughing.

"You aren't as strong as they say. I'm disappointed." he said with fake sadness, "I enjoyed our little playtime, but I've got work to do."

He raised his staff above his head and brought it down on Erza's head...

.

.

.

.

...only to have Erza's bare hand catch it.

The man's eyes widened as he made eye contact with the **Re-quip** mage. A sly grin spread across Erza's face.

"You get your powers from this crystal, right?" she chuckled, snapping the staff in two.

"I-Impossible! You can still move after all that!?"

He was answered by a fist in the face accompanied by a swift kick to the gut that sent him flying across the room into the couch. Erza stood up in her normal armor, the crystal ball laying at her feet. The man reached desperately for it despite it being well out of his grasp only for Erza to crush the crystal under her boot. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and **Re-quipped** a sword as she slowly approached the man. By now he was shivering in fright, seeing as now he no longer had a way to defend against the Titania's rage.

Erza glared down at the shivering man. "What was that you said earlier about me not being as strong as they say?"

The man was sputtering incoherent apologies as Erza raised her sword high, the light of the flames reflecting eerily off the blade. At that point the man passed out from sheer terror with a suspicious puddle around him. Erza chuckled and turned her attention to the back of the house. From the sounds that Erza could hear emanating from outside, the men that had fled the scene earlier had found who they were looking for.

"Jellal..." Erza muttered.

The redhead tore through the house and followed the sounds of battle until a man was blasted through the window and passed out when he crashed into the table, reducing it to kindling. Erza looked out the freshly made hole in the wall at the battle taking place in the backyard and was shocked at what she saw.

True, the cultists had found Jellal, but it looks like they were regretting it. A bright yellow glow swirled around him as he beat each of the cultists away with harsh persuasion.

 **(A/N: Due to the limited selection of spells to choose from for Heavenly Body Magic, I'm just gonna make up some of my own because it's sad that there are only 4 known spells and 2 are kinda deadly and destructive. Sorry if they suck, I'm not the greatest at making spells)**

" **Sirius***!"

A column of flame-like light flared up around him and 5 cultists screamed in pain as they were lit on fire with yellow flames. All Erza could do was stare in shock.

 _"For the next 7 years they trained me in **Heavenly Body Magic** while construction of the R-system continued."_

Was this... **Heavenly Body Magic**?

"Incredible.."

Jellal turned towards Erza and smiled faintly, but the smile turned to a concern. "ERZA! BEHIND YOU!"

Erza whipped around to see the man she had fought with one of her swords raised over his head, a look of murder in his eyes. Time slowed and Erza felt herself freeze up. Why was she freezing up? This was not the first time she had a sword pointed at her so why was she freezing like this?

 _Move dam it!_ she cursed herself.

"Good bye Titania!" he cackled.

The man swung the sword...

.

.

...but someone leapt in the way...

.

.

...the blade tore through his flesh and blood poured from the lethal wound...

.

.

...a wail of despair rose from Erza's throat as the body thudded down in front of her...

.

.

...the man fell, struck down by Erza's sword, a deep diagonal slash cleaving his chest...

.

.

...Erza's death grip on her sword released as it dropped from her hand and stabbed into the ground...

.

.

...she gazed at the dead face of the man that saved her life...

.

.

.

.

...Erza was gazing into the face of Simon.

 **...**

 **A/N: MWHAHAHAHAHA! I told you I was going to leave off with a cliffhanger! Of course, I bet you all expected that. As much as I didn't want to kill Simon, it was necessary for the sake of the story :(**

 **Sirius= it's the name of a real life star, the brightest of the constellation Canis Major and is derived from the Greek word "Seirios" meaning "scorcher"**


	6. Chapter 6: The Fairy Queen's Fury

Chapter 6: The Fairy Queen's Fury

 **...**

For Erza, it felt like the whole world had just stopped. She kept telling herself that it was just a dream. Just a horrible nightmare. That she'd simply fallen asleep on the roof and she'd wake up any minute to see Simon very much alive and waving her off on her journey. Words couldn't describe how much she wished that was true, but she knew in her heart and soul that what she was experiencing was real. As much as she wished it wasn't, it was.

Simon had taken the lethal strike for her.

He had saved her life.

But at the cost of his own.

Hot tears streamed down Erza's face in both anger and grief.

Was she really this weak? Too weak to even defend those whom she cared for so much? If only she hadn't frozen up, she could have easily blocked that sword on her own if she hadn't frozen. It was all her fault. It was her fault that one of her best friends was dead. Dead because he took a blow meant for her.

Rage and grief battled for dominance until rage came out victorious. All she could feel was the numbing heat of the flames that burned inside her heart. The pain from her wounds seemed a distant memory, her heartache was a long forgotten dream. There would be time to grieve later, now it was Erza's responsibility to strike these monsters down where they stood.

She pulled her sword from the earth and strolled casually towards the continuing battle between Jellal and the cultists, her bangs shadowing her eyes dangerously.

A shrewd man with weary brown hair peaking from under his hood and a small twisted dagger in his hand was the first notice Erza's approach. A word of warning to his comrades died on his lips as Erza ruthlessly cut him down. A stream of red blood dripped from the diagonal cut in his chest. It wasn't deep enough to kill, but Erza didn't care. Her vision was clouded with rage and revenge. All she wanted was these monsters, these demons, to feel the pain they inflicted on her. On Jellal.

On Simon.

Finally their attention turned from attacking Jellal to the raging redhead that was coming their way. Panic spread through their ranks and one brave soul tried to pull it back into order.

"Don't just stand there you imbeciles! It's just one girl!" he shouted.

They shifted uneasily but still surged forward at Erza. Jellal shouted at her to look out, but she only dully heard his warning. Two cultists swung spears at her in a futile attempt to sweep her legs and stab her. In response, Erza simply leapt above the first one, threw her sword into the air and grabbed the shaft of the other spear and flipped over it before throwing the man holding it into the other. The sword she had thrown landed lightly in her hand as a burly man with a great-sword swung down on her. If he had faced any other opponent with the same weapon Erza held, they would have been easily over-powered by his strength. But Erza caught the massive blade in her guard and with a sharp twist broke it clean in two with a loud _kirik._

The man didn't even have a second to be shocked because in a flash he was on the ground with several deep slash wounds in his chest. Erza's next three opponents bore glaives*. One stabbed at her knee with the butt of the shaft while the other two dived at her for opposite sides gearing for a stab. Erza parried the shaft jab and made the wielder loose his grip. The glaive spun into the air and land in Erza's hand where she used it and her sword to block the stabs. She forced them off her. Their guards dissolved, leaving them wide open for a stabbing from the glaive where she threw it like a spear into his shoulder and a rushed slash from her sword for the other guy. The two fell and the third was quivering in terror. He was unarmed and he didn't stand a chance against the Titania and was quickly defeated.

The next cultist tried a sneak attack, but Erza rolled left and lashed with her sword and the man fell to the ground screaming in pain, clutching his stump of a foot.

One cultist after another fell before her until they were all running in terror of the Fairy Queen's Fury. But Erza wasn't about to let them escape. Soon the whole backyard was stained red with blood and littered with bodies. None of them were dead, most were unconscious from blood loss the others were too injured to move. As the battle died so did Erza's rage. Her vision cleared so she could clearly see what she had done. Strangely, she felt no sorrow towards the men she had reduced to heaps of bloody flesh, but one look at the body of her friend and she was on her knees sobbing.

Then a warm arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her into a gentle embrace. The scarlet-haired mage didn't even have to open her eyes to know who it was. She just stayed in her childhood friend's embrace, sobbing her eyes out. He didn't say anything, he just stroked her hair soothingly and was just...there.

 _This is one of the things about Jellal that was wonderful_ , Erza realized, _he may have a way with words but he also knows when not to say anything at all._

She wasn't sure how long she had stayed like that but she soon had no more tears left to shed and a splitting headache from crying.

"I think I'm better now." she said softly.

Jellal let her out of his hug and they stood up. Erza walked slowly over to Simon's body and sank to her knees again. If she had anymore tears to cry, she'd be shedding them all. If someone just looked at his face, they'd just think he's merely sleeping. Though his eyes were closed and a ghost of a smile graced his face, he was too pale. Simon's formally tan skin had taken on a more ashy hue that hinted the fact that she wasn't looking at a sleeping man, but a dead one.

If someone looked down at his chest, they would see the bloody wound that ran through his skin. The sticky red liquid had stained his shirt and the grass around him. It made Erza's heart ache just looking at his broken body.

Rapid footsteps came behind them then abruptly stopped.

"S-Si-Simon?" a voice whimpered.

Erza looked behind her to see Kagura's teary face. She was covered in wounds from fighting and tears streaming down her face. The swordswoman kneeled next to her dead brother's body and sobbed uncontrollably. Watching it made Erza feel another wave of tears coming on. She had almost forgotten that Jellal was there until he kneeled next to the pair of swordswomen. He looked awkward. Of course he was. Jellal never really knew Simon. Sure, they'd talked a few times when they were young, but they didn't have the same deep relationship that Erza had with him.

"Who did this?" Kagura growled, "WHO KILLED MY BROTHER!?"

Suddenly, an arrow jutted out of Kagura's stomach covered in her blood. The rage in her eyes dissipated to shock. Erza whipped around and standing in long ranks among the carnage of the previous battle were more cultists. Presumably the rest that were in Rosemary Village. A man standing next to an archer stepped forward.

"That isn't going to matter in a few minutes because you will be joining him!"

 **...**

 **A/N: Was this good? I wasn't exactly planing on reinforcements for the cultists but hey, it wouldn't be logical for all the cultists to have been in the backyard. The next fight scene I'm going to have Jellal showcase his Heavenly Body Magic so I hope you all are looking forward to that. Sorry it took so long to update this story :)**


	7. Chapter 7: Open the Heavens

**A/N: Chapter 7 already! WOOOOHHHOOOO! Okay, I know that's not much of an achievement compared to other stories but with all the other stories I've written I have 31 chapters published if I add up all the stories I have published. Also almost 700 views of this story (again not as much as Finding His Wings which has 7,000 views, but still I'm happy). Thank you to all you awesome people who have been reading my crappy writing since it's started to get a bit more attention.**

 **Thank you again to all you wonderfully amazing people. Sorry I took so long writing this :)**

...

 _Chapter 7_ : Open the Heavens

...

"That isn't going to matter in a few minutes because you will be joining him!"

There were about 70 cultists crowded into Jellal's backyard. How that many people snuck up on them is a mystery to Erza, but it had to be the rest of the cultists that had invaded the town. Naturally they would have seen the display of magic that Jellal had put on just minutes earlier. There was an equivalent of a small army surrounding them and Kagura was already down with a very nasty wound in her stomach from the arrow that impaled her just seconds earlier before Erza pulled it out. The iron head of the arrow was dripping with Kagura's blood as Erza clutched it in her hand.

"Come quietly Fernandes." the lead man ordered.

Jelllal stood up and faced the men. His expression was chillingly calm and sent shivers up Erza's spine. She was sure that the cultists felt the same way as some were shifting uncomfortably as Jellal's gold eyes scanned each of them with a calculating gaze. Finally one of the men snapped and fired an arrow at him. Erza's eyes couldn't even follow the man's movements. In a flash of yellow, the arrow was embedded in the far kitchen wall and Jellal was face-to-face with the cultists. The robed men squeaked in surprise with Jellal's sudden appearance and fumbled with their weapons.

Jellal pointed two fingers at the ranks of cultist and seven magic seals flashed to life above them. " **Be judged under the seven stars! Grand Chariot!** "

The magic seals flashed brightly and a bombardment of magic attacks rained down on the enemies and devastated their ranks. Even with such a powerful attack, there was still a sizable amount of enemies left but to Erza, it looked like Jellal was just warming up. Yellow flames swirled around Jellal's feet before a column of similar fire ascended into the sky.

" **Sirius**!"

Finally one of the cultists managed to gather enough courage to get about 30 men orderly enough to mount an attack on Jellal. Erza was about to stand up and help him when another swarm of cultists descended on her and Kagura, who was unconscious from blood loss. Erza **Re-quipped** a sword and defended against the impending enemies with frightening ease, while catching glimpses of Jellal's fight. It didn't look like her old friend needed her help anyway as he single-handedly destroyed the ranks from a barrage of areal attacks.

With Erza's own enemies rendered unable to fight, she had nothing more to do then watch as Jellal pulverized the remaining cultists and was currently gearing for the final strike.

" **True Heavenly Body Magic: Open the Heavens, Polarius*!** "

The aura surrounding Jellal grew unbearably bright that Erza had to cover her eyes. There was an even brighter flash of light followed by a bone-rattling explosion that knocked Erza off her feet. When the light faded, Erza was sitting at the edge of a half-mile wide crater **(A/N: Jellal has a big backyard).** Standing completely unscathed among the (hopefully) unconscious bodies of the cultists was Jellal.

"We should leave. It seems that they've unearthed my plan to destroy the Tower of Heaven."

"But what about Kagura?" Erza asked, standing up, "She's injured."

Jellal nodded and climbed out of the crater before hoisting Kagura off the ground and slinging one of her arms over his shoulder before nodding for Erza to follow him as he dragged Kagura through the hole in the kitchen wall. Erza glanced one last time at Simon's body. She was too weak to protect him and he was dead because of her weakness. She was going to get stronger. That's a promise. One day Erza would be strong enough to protect all her loved ones and no one would have to sacrifice themselves to protect her.

Erza tore her eyes away from the corpse and followed Jellal into the battle-wreched house. He was in the main sitting room with Kagura laying on the couch while he disinfected and wrapped her wound with a medical kit laying open on the floor next to him. Once the bleeding was stopped, Jellal stood to face Erza. His expression was solemn and Erza understood why.

Deep down, he was probably kicking himself for what had just happened. Jellal was always the type to blame everything on himself until someone punched him and told him otherwise about five times. Although these occurrences were rare, it was painful to watch while they happened. Seeing Jellal so out of character was...unnerving to Erza. But it seems that he's concealed his emotions better then he did as a child.

"We should leave while we have the chance. The next time they attack, the number of casualties will surely be higher."

Erza was reluctant. Kagura was injured and Erza was reluctant to leave her best friend behind when she could use help. But Jellal was right. If they didn't leave then more trouble would surely follow them and more people would get hurt.

Erza nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

Jellal covered Kagura in a moth-eaten blanket and the mages hastily left the town. Rosemary Village quickly grew to be a distant speck in the valley. Erza glanced backwards briefly at the village, readjusted her backpack and followed Jellal down the hill.

...

 **A/N: Finally finished Chapter 7. I realized I hadn't updated this story in a long time. I'll try to update more often, but my primary story at the moment is "Finding His Wings" so that gets my more immediate attention. Sorry for all the people who like this story.**


	8. The Final Chapter

**A/N: Hi everyone. Okay, so wow. This story has been here forever, but I barely touch it. Mostly this was because I couldn't figure out where to take it...**

 **When I came up with this concept, I didn't really think it through all that much unfortunately so I've practically abandoned it for so long because I didn't want to ruin it with a crappy ending. Now I actually have an idea of how to end it and fingers crossed it isn't a horrible ending.**

 **This will be the final chapter. Thank you all for staying with this (horrible) story for so long and I am SO sorry this took 400 years.**

 **Brace yourselves, for you are about to enter THE DRAMA ZONE.**

 **DUN-DUN-DAAAAAHHH!**

 **Enjoy :)**

...

The journey to the Tower of Heaven was a long one full of adventure and thrills. Erza and Jellal were frequently pursued by the cultists, but they were able to evade them for the most part. Whenever conflict was unavoidable, they quickly smote them with their magic. Erza continued to be impressed with how much Jellal had grown as a mage in the time they were apart and likewise, he was with her. They spent many nights together under the stars. It was plenty awkward at first, though Erza found it amusing to see Jellal get a little red in the cheeks, but they eventually grew more comfortable in each other's company. The closeness they had once held when they were young rekindled once more.

They hurried through towns at a quick pace as to not draw attention to themselves. Only stopping to replenish supplies or rest in an inn when they got sick of sleeping on grass at the total mercy of mosquitoes. After a long journey, they finally reached the seashore. Even from there, they could vaguely see the outline of the Tower of Heaven in the far distance, a dark speck on the horizon.

"There it is." Jellal said, pointing at the Tower's outline, "The Tower of Heaven. The R-System."

Erza squinted at the shape. "It looks almost complete, but it's hard to tell from here."

"Then let's make haste."

Jellal flying on **Meteor** and Erza dawning her **Heaven's Wheel** armor, they flew low across the sea. The whole way, the salt water spraying their faces. It was a long flight, and eventually the gravity of their task was forgotten. Instead, they began to race each other across the waves, the danger forgotten for a time. Until they reached the shore of a tiny island standing silent vigil in the middle of the lonely sea. Atop it stood a tower sixty stories high, sitting on a base not unlike of a nest of thorny vines. The building had a powerful presence to it, one that Erza had began to feel six miles from it's shore. The air around the Tower was buzzing with magic.

Erza knew from the grave expression on Jellal's face that his worst fear had been realized.

The Tower was complete, save for the sacrifice needed to act as a vessel.

They entered quietly into the dark parlor of the tower. But something moved in the void, springing both mages into action. It proved to be the correct course of action as they had walked right into an ambush. Their enemies knew they were coming, but they had vastly underestimated the strength of the two mages. The battle lasted a handful of seconds and then it was over, Erza and Jellal victorious.

Alarms blared through the hallways and scores of masked cultists swarmed the hallways like a surging river. Only to be cut down by Erza's blades. They ascended the Tower's floors two or three at a time, taking short cuts by blasting their way through the flooring to the next level. Before they knew it they had reached the top floor.

And when they reached the top, it was completely dark. No light penitrated the heavy stone dome that covered the room. Erza reached for Jellal's hand, lest they get separated and taken out by lingering foes in the darkness. But her hand grasped only air. She fought with herself, wanting to call out to her friend but at the same time weary of the potential enemies that lay in wait in the shadows.

However, before she could come to a concensious, there suddenly was light! The great crystal that stood in the center of the room lit up with a pure white light, blinding the Titania, if only for a moment. When that light faded, what she saw shocked her.

"Surprise! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERZA!"

The Requip Mage recoiled in surprise as the shouts of her friends suddenly rang out. As it turns out, the heads cultist had been defeated by an uprising among those they had enslaved about a year ago. There were some stragilers who still persisted to complete their master's dark task, but they had been all but irradicated by Erza and Jellal. But Jellal had known about it the whole time and had planned everything. He had intended to make up for the lost time by surprising his best friend on her birthday after a massive adventure of his own creation.

...

"WHAT!?" Freya exclaimed, "THAT'S SUCH A LAME ENDING!"

Erza blanched. "Eh?"

"What about Uncle Simon? And Momma? And the cult people and Zeref!? UGGGGHHH!" the kid exclaimed, leaping out from under the covers.

"It wasn't _that_ bad!" Erza huffed, crossing her arms,"...was it?"

The redhead looked over at Jellal for reassurance. He shrugged at her.

"I told you we should have continued with my version." he said.

"You're version was too dark! Freya is a child! How could you tell her a story involving her loving uncle dying?!"

The angry shouts cut off when the front door opened. "I'm back." Kagura called from downstairs, "Is Freya to bed?"

"Yes!" Jellal called back, "We were just telling her a bedtime story!"

"A really lame one..." the small adopted girl muttered bitterly.

Erza sighed and snuffed out the bedside lamp. "Alright little warrior, time for bed." the Requip mage said.

Freya still stubbornly kept her arms crossed. "Only if you tell me a better story next time." she bargained.

Jellal chuckled. "Deal. I'll make sure Erza doesn't ruin it next time."

"You said the ending wasn't bad!"

"I never said that..."

The young girl snickered and sank into her bed and once she was safely tucked in, Erza and Jellal crept out of her room and closed the door. Waiting for them outside, was Kagura. She was much older now than she was when the story was set, but the gravity mage still retained the sharp and commanding look in her eyes. Though now it was softer and warmer, only slightly dulled by the maternal love Kagura felt for her adopted daughter.

"Thank you for looking after her." she said, "I hope it wasn't much trouble."

"Not at all." Jellal said warmly, "Freya is a wonderful child."

"You're doing a good job raising her, Kagura." Erza complimented.

Kagura nodded a tired thanks and the small band of friends exchanged final good nights before Jellal and Erza left Kagura's home. The lights in Kagura's house flickered out one by one as the pair headed down the road to their own abode, a comfortable silence between them.

"Did you really change the ending because it was too dark, or because you were embarrassed?" Jellal asked, suddenly breaking the silence.

"Huh?! What do you mean?" Erza exclaimed, taken aback by the sudden comment.

A teasing smile from Jellal. "Well, when we made it to the Tower, you had to-"

"Stop it!" Erza interrupted frantically.

"-ma-"

"I said stop!"

"-ke out-"

"I'm warning you!" Erza shouted.

"-withmetobreakthemindcontrol." he finished quickly.

Erza stopped walking. Magic buzzed in her hand and a sword appeared. She rose it high over her head. "I WARNED YOU JELLAL!"

Before Erza even realized it, Jellal planted a lightning quick peck on her lips. "Don't be like that. You know you enjoyed it." he teased.

The sword vanished and Erza sighed, her cheeks turning the same color as her hair. "Yes, I did."

...

 **A/N: Sorry for the lame ending. It came really out of left field but I honestly couldn't think of any other way to salvage this story T-T Thank you all for your patience with me and my crappy updates. Sorry if I disappointed you.**


End file.
